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WELCOME TO SPENCER MASSACHUSETTS
incorporated 1753
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' WE WISH TO RESCUE THE PAST FROM BEING FORGOTTEN,
AND TO GIVE HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE"
My name is HELEN BARNES and I am the person responsible for SPENCER MASS., WORCESTER COUNTY. If you would like to contribute your information to this page, please let me know. If you would like to volunteer for a county in Massachusetts, contact Betty Thomas
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Worcester County Links |
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Return to Worcester Co., MA, click Here |
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Lookups: Worcester County Lookups |
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Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness RAOGK (volunteers are limited to one look-up per month. You may be placed on a waiting list.) |
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Queries: click Here
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USGenWeb Links: |
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This page is part of the USGenWeb Project. Modeled after the Kentucky GenWeb Project which was organized by a group of genealogists in March and April 1996, the idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky, where collected databases would be stored. In June 1996, it was decided to expand the project to include all states. It has now expanded to include many countries throughout the world.
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A Brief History of Spencer
Rich in history, Spencer is located in central Worcester County, twenty minutes west of Worcester via Route 9, and about forty-five minutes form Springfield via Routes 49, 20, and the Massachusetts Turnpike.Settled in 1717 by Nathaniel Wood, Spencer was incorporated as a town in 1753. It has been established as a district from a part of Leicester. Its name was assigned by Lieutenant Governor Spencer Phipps who had signed the order establishing the district.In 1784 Spencer was a major stopping place on the Old Boston Post Road’s stage route between Boston and Hartford, and on to New York. Passengers changed stages in Spencer, as one coach would come from Boston and connect with one coming north from Hartford. Each stagecoach would turn around and return whence it came. Travelers often stopped for the night at Jenk’s Tavern in Spencer, as did General Henry Knox pushed his cannons through the streets of the town on his way to Boston from Ticonderoga, and George Washington in 1789.When the war of Independence broke out in 1774 it found Spencer ready to take part in it. Fifty-six men under Captain Ebenezer Mason immediately set out to Boston. Many of these men later took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Three hundred and thirteen Spencer men are known to have served in the Civil War. Thirty-two lost their lives in the service of their country.Spencer’s first mill was built in 1740 on Seven-Mile River, the greatest source of waterpower in the town. In 1811, Josiah Green began making shoes, and in 1834 he built a factory. The Prouty family began to make shoes in 1820, and built their factory in 1855. In 1812, Elliot Prouty had begun to "draw" wire in a mill he had built. His business flourished in his family until 1916, when it merged with Wickwire Steel Co. At one time, Spencer had eleven factories and twenty-six buildings for wire drawing. In 1839, the town hall was constructed and eighteen years later, Denny Hall, the town's first high school, was built. In 1888-1889, four prominent citizen (David Prouty, Richard Sugden, Luther Hill and Nathaniel Myrick) presented the town with a new high school, a library, a public park and the Spencer Agricultural Fair Grounds. The Howe family of Spencer did much to make the town famous in the annals of ingenious Americans. William Howe of Spencer developed a wooden truss bridge named for him, and his brother, Tyler Howe, patented a spring bed. Their nephew, Elias Howe, Jr., may well have eclipsed them when he invented the lockstitch sewing machine.
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Spencer Historical Commission
Town Hall 157 Main St. Spencer Mass. 01562 Office hours - Tuesday & Thursday 10 to 12 [Lower Level] 508 - 885-7500 - X186 Meets 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. |
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Spencer Historical Society The mission of the Spencer Historical Society is to collect, preserve, and publish the town's history and to raise public awareness of its past. |
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Spencer Town Clerks Office
Town Hall 157 Main St. Spencer Mass. 01562 508-885-7500 - X150 Town Clerk - Jean Mulhall |
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday: Wednesday, from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon and Monday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
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Official Municipal Website for the Town of Spencer, Massachusetts
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SPENCER CHURCH'S
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Mary, Queen of the Rosary Church 46-60 Maple St. Spencer Mass. 01562 508 885-3111 |
First Congregational Church 205 Main St. Spencer Mass. 01562 508- 885- 2149 |
Spencer United Methodist Church 161 Main St. Spencer Mass. 01562 508 885-2929
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AREA LIBRARY |
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Est. 1889 8 Pleasant St. Spencer Mass. 01562 508-885-7513 TTY: 508-885-7521
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3 Salem Sq. Worc. Mass. 01608 508 799-1655
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185 Salisbury St. Worc. Mass. 01607 508 755-5221
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SAINT JOSEPH'S ABBEY at Spencer, Massachusetts
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Records of Spencer
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Spencer Strays Here |
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Marriage Records To 1785 click Here |
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Map of Spencer 1877 click Here |
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Ancient Plan of Spencer click Here |
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Surnames of Spencer click Here |
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Soldiers of Spencer click Here |
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Spencer Old Cemetery list of names click Here |
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Letters click Here |
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1855 State Census - Spencer Irish Here |
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Spencer Vital Records Here |
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Links click Here |
Spencer from its earliest settlement to the year 1841, including a brief sketch of Leicester to the year 1753 - Draper, James, 1776-1868
Spencer from its earliest settlement to the year 1841, including a brief sketch of Leicester to the year 1753 - Draper, James,
"Genealogies, etc.": p. 159-272
Historical Sketches Relating to
Historical Sketches Relating to
Historical Sketches Relating to
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This page last updated Nov.. 29, 2010 |
I would like this to be an area that would include useful genealogical information on Spencer Mass. Some possible suggestions would be: History stories or connections to pages that tell the whole story, GEDCOM files of persons who lived in Spencer Mass., Information about genealogy and Spencer and town historical society links, Spencer family reunions, County records, cemetery listings, or any information that would help with family research. Please attach all information to an e-mail message and send it to me.
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This Spencer Mass. Genealogy Page was created and is maintained by:
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HELEN BARNES
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You are our |
This site is generously
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